Beauty | December 9th 2016

Best Treatments to Avoid Ingrown Hairs

From your face to your toes, ingrown hairs can pop up in painfully unattractive ways. Are you tired of constantly feeling itchy or sore just for trying to remove unwanted hair? Follow these simple tips to prevent these irritating hairs from interrupting your otherwise flawless skin.

Tip #1: Recognize the Signs

Sometimes combatting these bumps can feel like playing a video game — ingrown hairs appear in different shapes, sizes, locations, and difficulty levels.

If you have curly or coarse hair, if you shave closely with razors, or if your pores are clogged, it is more likely that your hairs will grow sideways or downwards instead of straight out of your skin. This causes the irritation that’s signature to ingrown hairs.

Have you noticed a bump, perhaps similar to a pimple, in an area you recently removed hair from? If so, that might be an ingrown hair in the making. In this case, the best way to prevent ingrown hairs from getting worse is not to not touch ingrown hairs with unclean fingers! You don’t want to spread bacteria to or from a possibly ingrown hair. In fact, if you follow healthier skin care regimes, untouched ingrown hairs often just go away on their own. It’s the scratching at, or attempted removal of, these hairs that usually leads to infection – and even scarring.

Tip #2: Shave Smart

If shaving is your preferred method of hair removal but you can’t remove the ingrown hairs that come with it, try out some of these simple tricks.

Shave using warmer water to open your pores, and always in the same direction as your hair growth

Rinse every time: you should never pass an uncleaned shaving device over your skin, you might push loose hairs into open pores.

The less strokes the better: let some hairs slide if you can – going over the same spot repeatedly increases irritation and therefore potential for ingrown hairs

Shave using creams or gels that moisturize, cleanse, and reduce the irritation on your skin. Whish’s Shave Cream with Hair Inhibitor Coconut Milk is versatile and works to smoothen skin, while slowing hair regrowth.

Apply cold water to your face with a rinse or wash cloth after cleaning your face in order to close your pores again.

Tip #3: Exfoliate

Keeping your pores open and clean allows for the hairs to grow up and out instead of inward, which is what causes irritation. If you shave your face regularly or have issues with ingrown hairs, we recommend using the Boucle Bath Mitt daily. Simply throw the mitt on, add water or an exfoliating scrub for additional effectiveness, and rub your face with circular motions at least once a day.

For a treatment that feels like a special treat, try Kiehl’s Pineapple Papaya Facial Scrub; the tropical smell and texture will leave you feeling like you just got your daily fruit intake through your skin. Small pieces of actual pineapple and papaya are one of the scrub’s exfoliating secrets.

Exfoliating daily works out any hairs that are starting to grow in the wrong direction – and if combined with the right facial scrub, exfoliation can clear, cleanse, and add essential vitamins to your face as well.